Shimmy at highway speeds?

I don't . If your asking if it's normal i say no, something is wrong.

 

It is a common problem with any car. Check your tire air pressure, if not that then have the tires balanced, if not that they have the alignment checked. It could also be an unevenly worn tire due to poor balance or alignment over time. If so, put the tire on the back and leave it there.

 

Are you talking about yourself or your Prius? If it's the Prius, check your tires and alignment. If it's you, check your brassiere.

Tom

 

I used too, but alas, all good things come to an end and that girlfriend left me!
Now 2 GF's and a wife later, can not duplicate problem.........too bad!

 

Hi Mindy,

Welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear you're experiencing "shimmy" at highway speeds. So far, I've had my new 2010 IV for over a month driving sometimes over 70+ without issue. In the 25+ days here on the forum, I've heard only TWO others state such an issue, however, due to the EXTREMELY negative posts by these two individuals they have been labeled as "trolls".

Judging from your post, my experience and the MULTIPLE posts from the "OTHER" thread, this is a rare issue and as such, it sounds like you have a problem with your vehicle and I would suggest taking it back to the dealer and do a test drive with the service tech to show him/her the issue. Also, if possible, see if you can "borrow" a test vehicle to try out on the highway at the 70+ mph to see if this test vehicle exhibits the same SHIMMY that your experiencing?

One persons tolerance/sensativity/threshhold for the shimmy maybe another's SMOOTH ride...

Good luck!

 

Three possible causes - 1- Tires out of round; 2 - Tires out of balance; 3 - Wheels with enough damage to cause running irregularity.

Find a tire shop that uses a ROAD FORCE BALANCER. This machine can diagnose all three possible causes.

The Prius is a sensitive chassis when it comes to wheel and tire problems. They're not common, but stuff happens....get it to a tire professional with the right equipment - and no, that is not likely going to be your friendly Toyota dealer.

 

Unless your car now has a lot of miles (30K +) it's tires. One or more simply needs a balance (preferably at a good shop that does hi-speed balancing). Out-of-balance tire(s) cause shimmy at speed, typically 40MPH and higher-worsening as speeds increases.

Not an expert here, but had my share of car shimmy issues in other cars. A good balance always resolved. Older cars could have worn suspension components causing shimmy (or worse), but certainly not your situation.

Yes, could be a faulty tire, but if it just came on.... And, perhaps you nicked a curb, hit a good size pothole, or a wheel weight came off.

 

no shimmy for me after 25K in the year I've had it. Doe sit fade away if you go faster? As I found, tire(s) that need balanced usually shimmy at a particular range of speed.

 

No issues here.

Does it happen on all roads at that speed? If not, it could be tramlining on some roads.
Tire Tech Information - Tramlining: Coping with the Ruts in the Road

 

Could be that your tires are not properly balanced.

Also could be from if you really warped your rotors or have bad enough uneven pad deposits on your rotors that hits the pad when its rotating. (Made more dramatic when braking)

 

Oh yeah, sure do...and in my instance I believe I know why.

My Prius is brand new and my tires, Yokohamas, have the correct factory air pressure (as per my Snap-On dial gauge).

For me the shimmy correlates with driving my Prius over heavily rain-grooved sections of roadway on some of our Bay Area Interstates and bridges. I believe it is siimply the reaction of my tires to the grooves.

 

I think someone mentioned it but I believe it's referred to as "tramlining" where your car's (usually) new tires tend to follow the rain/traction grooves in the road. The sensation is as if the road is pulling left and right. Its reported to have gone away or lessened with one or more of the following: suspension upgrades, alignment with more toe in, body bracing, different-than-stock tires, or simply wearing in the tires you've got now.

 

See my post...2 above yours.

 

Is the shimmy on the steering wheel or do you feel it through the seat ?
If it's on the steering wheel then it's the front wheels/suspension/tyres/balance.
If it's through the seat then its the back wheels/suspension/tyres/balance.
It could be a buckled wheel, have you hit a pothole hard or kerbed a wheel at all ?

 

Maybe she has tyres on the front and tires on the back, by mistake. That would cause shimmy.

 

Yes, I had the same problem. The first time the stealer said it was low pressure. That only made it worse! The 2nd time they said they could not find a problem and it was road conditions. I FINALLY got them to remove and balance the tires with a Road Force Balancer and sure enough, one tire was so far out it had to be replaced! Another common problem is flat spots. If your car sat at the dealer for a long time, as mine apparently did, this is a common problem.
Either way, a proper balance job should be able to diagnose it.

 

I just wanted to post to say my new Prius has the same problem.

Each time the problem occurs, I am driving 55 - 65 (seems going faster lessens the problem) on concrete with grooves. The road tugs at the car.

I don't know if it actually transmits through the steering wheel or it's just a psychological response to the force on my body. However, it's like the steering wheel is turning back & forth about 1/2" at about 4 times per second (240 Hz).

I have stock Yokohama Avids.

I may have the dealer check the balance on the tires to see if that solves the problem.

 

Rain groves can be a real problem for a lot of cars, they try to follow the groves, it's called tramlining. If you want to find out if it's just your car take a test drive in another one, preferably with the same tires.

It doesn't hurt to have the alignment checked (should be free for the first year). If it's OK on smooth roads the wheel/tire balance is most likely good.

 

Depending on how much mileage you have on the tires you could have one of three problems: 1. you have lost a wheel weight and one of the front tires/wheels need balancing, This one is easy to solve have both front wheels removed and have them re-balanced 2. the belt on one of the tires has come disconnected from the body of the tire, due to striking a curd or pothole or a defect in the tire. Have the car put on a lift and have the mechanic spin each front wheel. You will see the tire look like it is wiggling, even at low turning speeds. 3. Lastly and least likely unless you have struck a curb or pothole at high speed you have a warped wheel again have the front wheels removed and put on a high speed balancing machine the mechanic will see the warped wheel. The post above that talk about your brake are bogus. The only time you would feel a shake with a warped rotor is when you apply the brakes.